Full of it

Now that Halloween and Remembrance Day are behind us for another year, its time to look ahead to that special time of year that immediately follows Autumn’s falling leaves and windy days. And I’m not talking about winter….

Oh - I know, conventional wisdom dictates that after spring, summer and fall, we get winter—right?? Well… not exactly...

As the years have passed, it has come to my attention that in Canada, (and indeed, in most of North America) there is actually a very short but well-loved season that is sneakily sandwiched in between Fall & Winter. It doesn’t really have a proper name, but I like to call this extra season “Full”.

“Full” is a very short-lived season: It starts sometime in late November and goes right through until about the first week of January. During this six week period, while the snow starts and the temperature drops, North Americans of all types do one thing to the exclusion of almost everything else… we eat. And eat.

And eat, and eat and eat…
We eat at Christmas Parties, seasonal weddings and family get-togethers. We chow our way through dinner parties and cocktail parties. We arrange cookie exchanges and give each other gift baskets of expensive and lovely food. And then we eat it. All of it. With lots of butter and whipped cream.

I like to hold Mother Nature partially to blame for our complete pre-occupation with edibles this time of year. After all, there was a time when - like our animal cousins - our very survival in winter might have depended on our ability to pack on a nice layer of fat in the fall. But those days are long gone and I fear we are our own worst enemies at this time of year.

In coming weeks, every desk at every workplace will sport a box of chocolates or cookies; Every home will be decked out with mouth-watering baked goods and appetizers. Every grocery store will hand out free recipes for fat-laden goodies and helpfully display all the ingredients to make them in one place for easy access.

Now, I have already done my annual vow to myself, promising that I’ll be more discriminating this year and will control myself around shortbread and pumpkin pies - my two biggest weaknesses. And I’ve already admitted to myself that my vow is likely in vain.
You see, by the time Christmas dinner rolls around, I suspect that I likely will too. Roll around, I mean. Because by then, I’ll have had about 4-5 weeks of unabashed and uncontrolled eating behind me and that dreaded extra weight will have started to climb on.

But there is hope, because as I eat (and waddle) my way through “Full” and into winter, I know that there is yet another “extra” season we sneak into our year…

But lets talk more about how Canadians celebrate “Repent” in the new year, shall we?

Lest We Forget...

Remembrance Day is a very special day to me. A couple of uncles on both sides of my family served in World War II and were so affected by things they saw and heard overseas, they couldn’t talk about it at all. One uncle lost his leg - not while serving overseas - but many years later, due to injuries suffered while he was in the service.

I also spent a good part of my youth just a few miles from Guelph - which was hometown to “In Flander’s Field” author, Col. John McRae. Somehow, living so close to the home of the doctor who sat on a battlefield and penned the words “…if ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep...” made me realize something at a very young age:
If these brave young men & women hadn’t gone overseas, if they hadn’t accepted the inherent risks of being in the military, if they hadn’t taken on the task of protecting our country, our freedom, our rights… well, if not for them - you & I might be living in a very different world right now.

In my parent’s house, there was never any doubt that we’d wear a poppy proudly on our coats in the fall. We bought our poppies as soon as they went on sale, & replaced them as they disappeared from our lapels due to wind or wear. We never had a lot of money, but we never begrudged the few cents each year that went to buying poppies.

As we do today, we wore our poppies over our hearts, to show our love of our country and to illustrate how the commitment of our servicemen touched our hearts. I’ve made sure my own children do the same, and I’ve made sure they know about the sacrifice of the men and women who are represented by that little red flower.

And as I have for over 40 years - I’ll stand proud & silent at 11 minutes after 11am, on the 11th day of the 11th month - celebrating the safe return of our veterans and quietly grieving the rows of crosses in Flander’s Field and other cemetaries around the world...

...hundreds and hundreds of crosses - each one representing a soldier who has given his life in service to his country.

...each one representing a family with a member now missing, an empty seat at the table…

...a father… a brother… a son… a cousin or a neighbour...


And I’ll be grateful and humbled all over again.